2 Samuel 8:16

16 Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, was the commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records;

2 Samuel 8:16 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 8:16

And Joab the son of Zeruiah [was] over the host
Which was not only owing to his relation to David, being his sister's son, but to his promise that whoever smote the Jebusites first should be chief and captain; that is, should have the command of the army under him; this Joab did; and so was entitled to this office, and was put into it, and continued in it, ( 1 Chronicles 11:6 ) ;

and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] recorder;
of memorable events, who kept a diary of whatsoever remarkable happened, which were digested into a chronicle, history, or annals; see ( Esther 6:1 ) ; so the Targum, he

``was appointed over the memorials;''

or book of memorials, as Kimchi interprets it; that is, to take care of it, and see that everything worthy of notice was inserted in it; or was "remembrancer" ^F7; one that put the king in mind what was to be done every day, or in certain cases, and so R. Isaiah explains it, the king's counsellor; some take him to be chancellor, as Luther and others {h}.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 (rykzm) "commemorans", Montanus; "commemorator", Syr. Ar. "memorans, sive reducens in memoriam", Vatablus.
F8 Vid. Beckium in Targ. 1 Chron. xviii. 15.

2 Samuel 8:16 In-Context

14 He set up military camps throughout Edom, and the people there became his subjects. The Lord made David victorious everywhere.

15 David ruled over all of Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly.

16 Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, was the commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records;

17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the court secretary;

18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of David's bodyguards; and David's sons were priests.